faith

Why Does God do Miracles?

PastorPartridge Sermon , , , , ,

“Are You Raised, Transformed, or Redirected?”

(Why Does God do Miracles?)

June 05, 2016

By John Partridge*

 

Scripture: Luke 7:11-17            Galatians 1:11-24         1 Kings 17:8-24

 George Herbert Leigh Mallory was born on June 18th, 1886 and was an extraordinary mountain climber who was attempting to be the first to reach the peak of Mount Everest.  He made climbs of nearly every well known mountain and in the 1920’s made three attempts, in 1921, 1922, and again in 1924, to reach the summit of Everest.  On March 18, 1923 a reporter from The New York Times asked Mallory, “Why did you want to climb Mount Everest?” This question was asked particularly in light of his plans to go again in 1924, and Mallory responded with what has been described as the most famous quote in mountaineering, “Because it’s there.”

During Mallory’s third attempt, on either 8 or 9 June 1924, Mallory and his climbing partner, Andrew “Sandy” Irvine both disappeared on the North-East ridge when they were only about 800 vertical feet from the summit.  Mallory’s body was lost for 75 years and only discovered in 1999.  Irvine’s body, and the camera that he carried (which might provide evidence of whether or not they reached the summit before Sir Edmund Hillary), remain missing even today.

And that brings us to the question for today because last week we talked a lot about the great power of God and the amazing miracles recorded in scripture that displayed God’s power.  But in the end, we often ask the same question that the New York Times asked George Mallory… “Why?”  Why does God perform miracles?  Why does God choose to display his unlimited and unmeasurable power?  And in order to arrive at an answer we will, once again, take a look at some of the miracles that God has performed.  We begin again with the stories of Israel’s greatest prophet, Elijah, during a drought and famine that caused hardship all over the region. (1 Kings 17:8-24)

8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there [Zarephath was to the north of Israel, beyond Galilee, in what was then a part of the Assyrian empire and what is now the nation of Lebanon]. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”

15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”

19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed.20 Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”

22 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”

24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”

God does some amazing things in this story, but this is what I want you to remember: At the end of the story we hear the widow say, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”

And then Luke 7:11-17, we hear about a miracle of Jesus that echoes the story of Elijah…

11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

16 “They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.”

In this story, Jesus is in the town of Nain which, while it isn’t as far north as Elijah was, is still in the region of Galilee and far enough north to remind everyone of Elijah’s story.  Here, Jesus meets a funeral procession on its way to the cemetery.  The funeral is already over, the time of mourning in the home is over, and the mourners are now carrying the body to be buried.  Jesus stops and touches the bier, or platform, on which the body rests and the pall bearers stop with him.  Jesus simply commands the dead man to get up, and he does.

And once again I want you to remember the last two verses from that story: “They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.”

And finally we come to the story of Paul’s conversion that we discussed last week. This time found in Galatians 1:11-24.

11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being.17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.

18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.

21 Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of me.

Paul is even farther north than Elijah and Jesus as he travels in Syria and Cilicia (which is in modern Turkey).  Paul’s entire life is changed.  He doesn’t physically come back from the dead, but he is restored to life eternal by his recognition of Jesus as the Messiah.  Paul’s entire life is transformed and given a new direction.  And what is the result?  Paul says: “They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.  And they praised God because of me.”

And so today we have heard three stories about the power of God and each time we heard words that sound very similar.

  • Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”

 

  • “They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.”

 

  • They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”  And they praised God because of me.

Each time, the “why,” the reason that God performed a miracle, was so that God could be made known to humanity.

I have had people ask me why we don’t see miracles as often as we used to, or why we don’t see miracles in North America when others in places like Africa, parts of Asia and Cuba, do occasionally see them.  And at least a part of the answer is in these three scriptures.  If God performs miracles so that he can be made known, what need is there to perform them in places where there are already an abundance of believers who have already been called to do that very thing?

But more important than that is the understanding that God never performed miracles just so that he could be famous.  God doesn’t just want to be made known so that everyone knows him.  God wants to be known so that he can use us.  For reasons that we don’t understand, God wants us to join his family and to live with him.  But before we can do that, he needs to make us perfect.  Few, if any, of us will come anywhere close to perfect in this life, but God intends to move us in that direction whenever possible.  God is at work every day moving us toward perfection… if we will let him.  And in the process, God will do three things: First, he will rescue us from death and raise us to a new life.  Not just a new life after this one ends, but a new life that begins now, a new and radical life that is dedicated to serving him.  Second, God will be at work transforming our lives so that we, more and more, resemble him.  Every day, little by little, we should increasingly reflect God’s values, love, compassion, justice, mercy, forgiveness, and every other aspect of his personality.  At some point in that process, others will likely begin to notice that we are different than we used to be and, if we are doing it right, they will want to know what happened to us so that they can have whatever we have found.  And third, God is at work redirecting us so that instead of dedicating our lives in the pursuit of pleasure, money, power, or something else, the direction of our lives becomes a reflection of his will and his mission so that we truly become the hand and feet of Jesus.

In reality, answering the question of “Why” God does miracles is the easy part.

God does it for us.

God performs miracles to make himself known to humanity. But what follows is harder.  What follows is a journey of faith that begins with our resurrection to life eternal, continues with transformation into a new creation as we become the people that God intends for us to be, and finally begins a pursuit to become a reflection of his will and mission so that we do the work of the Kingdom of God and truly become the hands and feet of Jesus.

The hard questions are these: Are you raised, transformed, and redirected?

How far have we come?

Are we moving forward, or are we stuck?

What must I do to become the person that God created me to be?

How is God calling me to become the hands and feet of Jesus?

 

___________
Did you benefit from reading this?
Click here if you would like to subscribe to these messages.

_______________

 

 

* You have been reading a message presented at Trinity United Methodist Church on the date noted on the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Trinity of Perry Heights in Massillon, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry may be sent to Trinity United Methodist Church, 3757 Lincoln Way E., Massillon, Ohio 44646.  These messages are available to anyone regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at subscribe@trinityperryheights.org.  To subscribe to the electronic version sign up at http://eepurl.com/vAlYn.   These messages can also be found online athttps://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Faith, Fire, and Truth

PastorPartridge Sermon , , , ,

“Faith, Fire, and Truth”

May 29, 2016

By John Partridge*

 

Scripture: Luke 7:1-10                  Galatians 1:1-12                           1 Kings 18:20-39

About a dozen of our Trinity folk have been working their way through our short-term Bible study with Lee Strobel’s “A Case for Christ.”  In that study, there is a question that has been presented several times. “If Jesus really is who he says that he is, what does it mean?”  And as we’ve gone through the study, what we come back to is an understanding that if Jesus is who he says that he is, and indeed, if God is who the Bible says that he is, then that has serious implications for how we live our lives.  It’s one thing to ignore Jesus or to pick and choose which of his teachings we like or don’t like, if he was only a good teacher of human nature and morality.  But if Jesus really was the Son of the living God, the creator of all that is, and the judge of all humanity, then how we deal with his teaching, and how we live our lives, is changed dramatically.  And so, this morning, although this message has no other connection to our Bible study, I want to consider the reality and power of God as well as what that means to how we live out our lives.

We begin this morning in Luke 7:1-10 where Jesus performs a miracle without ever meeting the recipient of that miracle, or the person who asked for it.

7:1 When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 6 So Jesus went with them.

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

In this story, Jesus performs a miracle that stands outside of the ordinary for several reasons.  First, Jesus is asked to heal the servant of a Roman centurion, which is unusual because, for the most part, the Jews were not on good terms with the Roman occupation.  Second, this centurion must have been on good terms with the leaders of the Jewish Temple because the people that he asks to seek out Jesus for him are elders in their religious community and, as you might recall, these leaders themselves often had a difficult relationship with Jesus.  As it turns out, this centurion must have been one of those responsible for the building of the Temple and must have had a regular, daily, working relationship with many of the Jews.  Third, the centurion sees no need for Jesus to trouble himself with actually coming into his house because he understands that if Jesus has real power, and real authority, then he can simply do what needs done without actually being there… and he does.

In the end, Jesus heals the servant of the centurion without ever entering the house, without ever meeting the centurion, and without ever seeing the servant that was healed.  The power that Jesus had went far beyond magic tricks and parlor games.  There were no magic words or incantations, there was no laying on of hands, and you might notice that there wasn’t even a prayer that God would bring healing.  Jesus doesn’t even make some sort of official pronouncement that the servant would be healed, but instead comments on the great faith of the Roman centurion and that the faith of this enemy occupier was greater than any that Jesus had seen in all of Israel.

And the men who had come to Jesus returned to the house and found the servant well.

Next, we read what one of my very favorite Bible stories if not my most favorite of all.  The king and queen of Israel, Ahab and Jezebel, were worshippers of Baal and had, systematically, persecuted, driven out, converted, or killed almost all of God’s prophets and priests until Elijah believed that he was the only one left.  At that moment, God comes to Elijah and Elijah challenges Ahab to a duel in front of the entire nation.  He invites Ahab to bring all of the prophets of Baal, from all over the country, and they would meet him on Mount Carmel to see which god was real.  (1 Kings 18:20-39)

20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

But the people said nothing.

22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”

Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.

Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.

27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down.31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs [about 24 pounds] of seed.33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”

34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.

“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

The prophets of Baal pray, and sing, and cry out, and cut themselves, and do all sorts of things to get the attention of their god, and at the end of the day, after they literally drown his sacrifice with water, Elijah prays a simple prayer that God would let it be known in Israel that he… is… God.

And fire comes down from heaven.

And the fire burns up the sacrifice… and the wood… and the water in the trench… and the stones that make up the altar… and the dirt underneath of it.

God answers the prayer of Elijah and leaves absolutely, positively, no doubts in the minds of anyone present that what they had witnessed was something supernatural.  There was no possibility that anyone there harbored any suspicions that what they had witnessed was either an accident or some kind of natural phenomenon.

And, perhaps after a moment of shock and terror, the people fall on their faces and proclaim, “The Lord, he is God.  The Lord, he is God.”

And then we come to the Apostle Paul who writes these words to the churches in Galatia (Galatians 1:1-12) where people from the churches, who had previously put their faith in Jesus Christ, were turning away from God and instead following other gods.

1:1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers and sisters with me,

To the churches in Galatia:

3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!

10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

Paul was astonished that human nature hadn’t changed a bit since the time of Elijah.  People who had heard the good news of Jesus Christ were turning to follow other gospels and being confused by other preachers. And, in his own way, Paul uses the same logic that Elijah did by reminding the people that the message that he carries is not something that was created or invented by human beings.  Paul, like the other disciples, was a witness to the risen Jesus.  Paul was a Pharisee and had been a fervent supporter of the Jewish faith to the extent that he had pursued the followers of Jesus, persecuted them, arrested them, and dragged them back to Jerusalem for trial.  But as he travelled on the road to Damascus, something changed.  Saul met the risen son of God, became a follower and missionary of Jesus, and took on a new name, Paul.  And so, as he writes to the church in Galatia, Paul reminds them that it is this truth that he serves.  Much like the phrase that we hear today, “Follow the money.” Paul says, “If I were trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”  If Paul was trying to get rich, following Jesus wasn’t the way to do it.  If Paul wanted a comfortable life with a beautiful wife, a nice house, and plenty of servants, following Jesus was not the way to do it.  But instead of getting rich or having a comfortable life, Paul is compelled to follow the truth and that truth, Paul says, did not come from human beings but was given to him by the resurrected, and very much alive, Jesus Christ.

In all three stories, the question for each of us remains the same.  If God is real, if Jesus really did rise from the dead, then we have some very important decisions to make.  If God isn’t real then it doesn’t matter if you worship Baal or any other god, but if the God of Israel is real then it matters a great deal.  If Jesus wasn’t the Son of God and didn’t rise from the dead, then we are free to live our lives any way that we choose.  But if Jesus was, who he said that he was, then doing the things that he said we should do, and living our lives the way that he said we should live them, suddenly become extraordinarily important.

You may not have seen fire fall from the sky and consume God’s sacrifice, but you have heard the truth.

What will you decide?

What will you do?

How will you live?

Your choices matter.

 

 

 

___________
Did you benefit from reading this?
Click here if you would like to subscribe to these messages.

_______________

 

* You have been reading a message presented at Trinity United Methodist Church on the date noted on the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Trinity of Perry Heights in Massillon, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry may be sent to Trinity United Methodist Church, 3757 Lincoln Way E., Massillon, Ohio 44646.  These messages are available to anyone regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at subscribe@trinityperryheights.org.  To subscribe to the electronic version sign up at http://eepurl.com/vAlYn.   These messages can also be found online athttps://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

What Are *You* Building?

PastorPartridge Sermon , , , , , ,

“What Are You Building?”
November 15, 2015
By John Partridge

Scripture: 1 Samuel 1:4-20                  Hebrews 10:19-25                       Mark 13:1-8

We often hear investment advisers and construction companies tell us that we should invest and that we should be building. But if we should invest, or if we should build, are often entirely the wrong questions.

Every day, we invest.

Every day we build.

The question isn’t if, the question is what.

You may remember me telling this story before, but a little more than fifteen years ago, I was happily employed as an engineer. Patti and I had already felt God’s call on our lives, but we did not yet have any idea what, or when, that call might be. But my contentment took a hit right around September 11th, 2001. It may have started a little before that, but it was surely shaken afterwards. Before that time I thought I wanted to be an engineer for the rest of my career, buy a little farm in the country, and retire. But after that, something began to nag at me. I still liked what I did and most days I would gladly do it again, but something had changed. I realized that while I really liked seeing the things that we designed and built, and while it was a great feeling to see those things leave the factory on the back of a truck, and to see them installed, something bothered me. I began to think about permanence. Almost all of the things that we were building replaced something old. A new furnace replaced an old one. A new control system replaced an old one. And no matter how ingenious or how brilliant our designs were, so were the designs of another engineer thirty years earlier. Fast forward another twenty or thirty years and some other engineer would tear out the things that we had made and melt them down for scrap. So I began to think about what I was building.

What difference was I making?

Forty, fifty, or a hundred years from now, what difference would my life make?

That question eventually led me here. But it is also a question that comes to us in today’s scriptures. We begin in 1 Samuel 1:4-20, with the story of Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel…

4 Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. 6 Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. 7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. 8 Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”

9 Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house. 10 In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. 11 And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

12 As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”

15 “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”

17 Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”

18 She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

19 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. 20 So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.” [because “Samuel,” in Hebrew, sounds like the word that means, “heard by God.”]

There is an interesting difference between the two wives of Elkanah. Hannah, who has no children, is charming and beautiful, and adored by her husband. So obvious is his preference for her that his other wife, Peninnah, deliberately antagonizes her so that she cannot enjoy herself at the feast. Peninnah does this even though God has blessed her with many children and has given none to Hannah. Hannah’s character is revealed as she turns to the lord in prayer instead of retaliating in any way.

Despite her childlessness, Hannah had been building a tender spirit and a strong faith and trust in God.

And so, in due time, God uses Hannah, to raise up a great prophet for Israel.

And then in Mark 13:1-8, Jesus has something to say to his disciples about the things that God is building. What Jesus has to say was both unexpected and unsettling for those that heard it.

As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”

5 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

As Jesus and his disciples leave the Temple, his friends excitedly point to the greatness of the Temple that Herod had built. Some of the largest stones were, at that time, visible as you traveled along the walkway outside of the Temple and those stones have, in modern times, been unearthed by archaeologists. We have a good idea what they were talking about, and in fact, the chances are good that we are looking at exactly the same stones that Peter, James, John and Andrew were looking at. The largest of these is nearly twelve feet tall, 14 to 16 feet thick, 45 feet long, and likely weighs over 570 tons. Even if the estimate of its thickness is incorrect and it was only five feet thick like many of the other stones, it would still weigh more than 175 tons. Herod’s temple was, absolutely, one of the single most amazing construction projects in the known world and is still studied today by architects, builders, engineers, historians, archaeologists, and others because of its beauty and incredible feats of engineering.

The Temple was designed to point to an awesome God, inspire awe, and to remind everyone of the power of King Herod.

But Jesus isn’t impressed.

Jesus tells his friends that a day is coming when the Temple will be destroyed and the stones will be thrown down. As impressive as the Temple was, the building that they were looking at was not the end.

God was building something better.

Jesus wanted his disciples to know that a church building, no matter how impressive, is not the church.

God is building something better.

A great clue to what God is building can be seen in Hebrews 10:19-25.

19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

What words did you hear in all of that?

I heard words like hope, confidence, forgiven, open, washed, faithful, good deeds, encouragement, and love. Not one of those things sounds like a church building, or a temple, or cars, or houses, or machines. But every single one of them has everything to do with people.

And in the end, that is one of the reasons that I’m here today and not an engineer. The things that we build will be gone in a decade or two, but the people that we build last much longer, and when we build families, they can endure for generation after generation.

But you don’t have to be a pastor to invest in people.

You don’t have to be a pastor to build people up.

Investing and building people is the mission of our church every minute, of every day, of every week, of every year.

The Temple that Jesus and his friends were looking at, as impressive as it was, wasn’t what was important.

The Temple wasn’t the church.

This building isn’t the church.

We are the church.

And our mission is to find, love, rescue, invest in, and build people and families.

And that, is how we can do work that will last for generations on earth, and for eternity in heaven.

The church has never been about building things.

The church has always been about building people.

What are you building?

________________
Were you blessed in some way by reading this message?
Click here to subscribe to Pastor John

Compassion Theater

PastorPartridge Sermon , , , , , ,

“Compassion Theater”
November 08, 2015
(Veterans’ Sunday)
By John Partridge

Scripture:  Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17               Hebrews 9:24-28                     Mark 12:38-44

How many of you have taken a vacation in the last ten years?

How many of you have flown on an airplane, either for vacation or for business in the last few years?

If you haven’t travelled much lately you might not have noticed, but if you went anywhere near the airport since 9-11 you will have noticed that things are very different than they used to be.

While there used to be security at the airport, since September 11th, 2001 there have been huge changes in the amount, the types, and the locations of security. You now enter security earlier, they check a lot more things, a lot more thoroughly, and they prohibit travelers from taking a lot more things with them. But for all of the expense, and all of the hassle, a lot of people have begun to refer to the entire process as “Security Theater.” The reason it has earned such a nickname is that for all the additional trouble, the process hasn’t really caught, or stopped, any more terrorists than the old system and, in fact, the people in charge of our security have been arrested for crimes many times more often than they arrest anyone else. No other country in the world made the changes we did, and their security is generally better. Worse, by some estimates, the new enhanced security is even less safe, and less effective than it was before they made us take off our shoes and took away our fingernail clippers. Security Theater is very much what the nickname implies. It’s a great show, with marvelous acting. It makes you feel like you are safer, but doesn’t really do much else.

But the same thing happens in a lot of churches. People put on a good show, but don’t really do much else. To better understand what I mean, let’s return to the story of Ruth. Here, after Ruth and Naomi have returned from Moab, to Israel, they struggle, as widows, to survive on the kindness of others but try to find stability and hope for the future. (Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17)

3:1 One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for. 2 Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. 3 Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.”

5 “I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered. 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.

4:13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”

16 Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. 17 The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Ruth’s devotion to her mother-in-law, Naomi, was not fake. Her actions were not an act. Because Ruth is not a native of Israel she knows that she doesn’t always understand the language, the culture, or the way people think. But she trusts Naomi with her life and when Naomi comes up with a plan, she agrees to do whatever Naomi tells her to do. Because of her trust, faith and obedience, Ruth and Boaz are married, find the stability and hope that both women were seeking, and Ruth becomes, eventually, the grandmother of King David.

That isn’t theater. That’s the real deal. Ruth’s trust and devotion are real.

But in Mark 12:38-44, Jesus warns his followers about a completely different kind of person.

38 As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Jesus wanted his disciples to watch some of the church leaders because they were participating in “Compassion Theater.” Instead of being ‘real’ like Ruth, instead of truly having faith, trust, and obedience to the words of God, these men do all that they can to put on a good show so that they look good, despite the fact that, in reality, they are more despicable than many unbelievers. These were men who were more than willing to foreclose on poor widows and steal their houses, but still offered loud and long prayers in public places where everyone could see them.

In total contrast to these men, Jesus points out a poor widow, whose total net worth amounted to two copper coins. This was all the money that she had in the world, and she was willing to give it to God and trust him with her future. Others, rich people, came to give offerings, once again, in public, and gave large amounts of money… because they could. For them, even though the gifts were large, they weren’t costly. They were rich and could easily afford to give large gifts and never miss the money. Their giving was fake and all for show. Their giving never required them to sacrifice anything. But that poor widow was completely real, and gave an offering that represented the sacrifice of all that she had.

So where does that leave us?

What message should we take away from all of this?

Before we get to that, let’s read one more passage of scripture. In Hebrews 9:24-28, we remember the gift that Jesus gave to every one of us.

24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Jesus, the Son of God, the creator of the universe, came to earth to give a gift to the people that he loved. He had everything. He created the universe. The cattle on a thousand hills, and all that exists, belongs to him. And yet, the gift that he gave required sacrifice. Jesus, in order to truly give a gift of love, sacrificed himself.

And so the message we need to digest is to be careful that we do not participate in “Compassion Theater.” We should not give to the poor just because we want others to think that we care. We should not make a show of our faith in public just so people look at us and think that we’re good. Instead, our goal is to be as real as possible, to live a life of trust, faith and obedience to God instead of worrying about how good our charity or church attendance make us look.

We are impressed by the gifts that our veterans have given to us, not because they were drafted or because they volunteered, but because their gifts were costly. They spent years of their lives in service to our country, they spent time away from their families and friends, and they risked their very lives for our protection. Ruth’s gift to Naomi was real trust and devotion that risked everything. Jesus was impressed by the poor widow because her gift represented a significant sacrifice. Jesus could make all of his followers rich, but since he is the creator of everything, that wouldn’t be all that impressive. But we are astounded by Jesus’ gift to us because it represented real sacrifice, even for the King of kings.

As we give gifts to God, whether those gifts are financial or not, we need to ask ourselves if we are doing them to look good, or if we are truly doing them to honor God.

Real gifts, gifts that have meaning, are gifts that cost us something.

Ten (or more) Lessons from Ferguson

PastorPartridge Sermon , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


    Recently I read an article by Jeremy Smith, in United Methodist Insight, in which he wondered why more  clergy did not speak out on the events of Ferguson, Missouri.  In the article, Smith insists that when we don’t speak out about injustice, we make it seem that we aren’t responsible for things that happen far away from us.  In his words, “When I don’t speak up, I help turn the response into a pocket and not a whole garment of the human experience crying out for justice. “  He’s right of course, but I have a hard time speaking out about events like those in Ferguson because I am so personally ignorant, confused and conflicted by them.
    I’m a white guy and I grew up with the privileges that come with that.  Our family was far from wealthy, but I haven’t suffered from the subtle or overt discrimination that my non-white friends did.  I have not been pulled over by the police for “Driving While Black.”  I have no idea what that must be like. 
    I know that because I am white I do not fully appreciate all of the issues in play in the mess that is Ferguson, MO nor do I feel the impact of those events personally, as people of color undoubtedly do.  I know that anything I say about these events will lack understanding.   But Jeremy Smith is right, keeping silent allows injustice to continue and so I feel like I have to say something. 
    As followers of Jesus Christ we are called to stand against injustice, and there has been plenty on every side.  Not long ago, a colleague of mine posted a link to an article (to which I will not provide a link) that was so filled with hatred of hate and racism that it became hateful and racist itself.  In opposing racism, it named anyone who disagreed, for any reason, or for any principle, as a racist.  That sort of language is unhelpful and it doesn’t help any of us to think clearly.

    So here are ten lessons that we can learn from the mess that is sorting itself out (and will be for years) in Ferguson, MO:

1)      There is never an excuse to hate someone whose skin is a different color, simply because their skin is different color.  It isn’t okay to hate someone because they are black but neither is it okay to hate someone because they are not.
2)      In a town that has a population with a majority of African Americans, it is inconceivable that the police department can’t find African American recruits or that the imbalance should be so substantial.  As I understand it, the federal government is investigating this disparity, and they should.
3)      When there is injustice it should be okay to protest that injustice. Peacefully.

4)       Protests about injustice should not devolve into riots in which property is destroyed and innocents are put in the hospital, and worse.
5)      It’s not okay to use injustice as an excuse to cause injustice.
6)      It’s not okay to hurt someone who is on your side, just because they are the wrong color.
7)      It’s not okay (nor is it helpful) to destroy the businesses that have supported an abused community to make the point that the community has been abused.
8)      To say that it’s NOT okay doesn’t go far enough, it is flat out wrong, offensive, and even criminal, for the police department to try to disperse a riot by showing up dressed and equipped for a war.  Uniforms and weapons of war have no place on our streets.  I have no idea why anyone thought that showing up with M-16’s and armored personnel carriers was going to bring peace.
9)      While it is important, even necessary, for the media to have access to the story and for the story to get a wide distribution, there is a point at which the media becomesthe story.  From several stories that I read, from several very different media outlets, a point was reached when most citizens had gone home and rioters appeared, many from out of town, simply because the media was there.  I don’t know how we could, and we probably can’t and shouldn’t place restrictions on media access, but when the media’s presence makes the violence worse, something needs to be done.  Perhaps the media outlets themselves can agree on some sort of code of conduct, or organize a media pool as is often done in wartime, to share stories and prevent an area from being mobbed by reporters.
10)   As to who is guilty in the original event that triggered this mess, I have to admit that the conflicting reports in the media make me unsure.  A young man is dead and shouldn’t be.  I don’t know who is at fault, but I am sure that a careful investigation is needed.  I am also sure that the Ferguson Police are not the ones who should do the investigating.  In Ohio, it is standard procedure for accusations against social workers to be investigated by a neighboring (outside) social service agency.  Perhaps police departments ought to do the same with any officer involved shooting.
    Ultimately, there is plenty of fault to go around.  Ferguson may not be a “Perfect Storm” where everything went wrong, but a whole lot still went wrong.  The police got it wrong, the protestors got it wrong, the media got it wrong, and probably a few others as well.  But in every case, we, the people of God, the church, need to find a way to fight against injustice. 
All injustice. 
    We need to speak up against institutional racism.  We need to speak out against a police force that is preparing and equipping to fight a war against its own citizens.  We need to speak out against rioters who overshadow legitimate protestors and also against a media machine that makes problems worse instead of better.
    As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to be salt and light to the world.  We are called to stand against injustice.  We are supposed to be doing all we can to make things better.
    The events of Ferguson, MO make it clear that no matter where we live, regardless of our race, we have a LOT of work to do.

—————————————————————————————————

To have Crossfusion delivered directly to your email, click here.

Trust is a Big Deal

PastorPartridge Sermon , , , , , , , ,


    Have you ever had one of those “Duh!” moments when things start to make sense for the first time? But there are also moments when we read scripture and we completely miss important things because we assume that the people in the Bible were just like us.  In our scripture lesson this week, we read the story of Moses leading the people of Israel through the dry path God had created in the depths of the Red Sea.  But after the chariots, horsemen and soldiers of Egypt’s army are drowned, we read these verses in Exodus 14:30-31:
That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore.  And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
    Most of us read this and think, “So what? They trusted God. God is trustworthy. Duh.”  And, because we assume that the people of Israel were just like us, we completely miss what a big deal this really was.
    We have lived our lives in possession of the entire Old Testament as well as the New Testament.  For many of us, there has never really been much doubt that God was trustworthy, even when we weren’t sure that God was real.  But the people of the Exodus did not know what we know.  The world that they lived in, and the gods that they knew, were very different.
    In the story of the Exodus, despite coming from the family of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Israelites had lived in the land of Egypt for 400 years.  At that time, they did not have a formal system of worship, or priesthood, they had stories.  The stories of their forefathers had been passed down to them from generation to generation, and even though the stories were magnificent, they lived in a world with very different stories.
    The Egyptians, like the Romans and the Greeks of the New Testament, were polytheists.  They believed, not in the one God of Israel, but in a collection of gods that were far from trustworthy.  The gods warred with one another through human agents and tens of thousands died for their amusement.  The gods of the Egyptians were capricious; they did what they wanted, when they wanted, often without any guiding morality.  To the gods, humans were little more than playthings and to humans, the gods were to be feared and not trusted.
    And so when the people of Israel saw that the God of Abraham had used his great power, not only to provide a means for them to escape their slavery, but to destroy those who sought to kill them, they saw, many for the first time, that their God was different.  Finally, the stories began to make sense.  They realized that the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph was different than the gods of the Egyptians. 
They realized that the God of Israel could be trusted.
And trust really is a big deal.

—————————————————————————————————

To have Crossfusion delivered directly to your email, click here.

What is Faith?

PastorPartridge Sermon , , ,


I have a faith problem.
    Don’t worry, I haven’t lost my faith.  Sure, I have occasional doubts, but wrestling with doubt is normal and even healthy.  No, the problem that I have with faith is with how believers and unbelievers misuse, misunderstand, misappropriate, and even abuse the word (and the definition of) faith.
    More than once, I have listened as atheists or others have mocked the followers of God claiming that having faith is belief in the absence of evidence.  Defined this way, faith becomes the opposite of rational thinking.  Believing with the utter absence of evidence is nothing more than wishful thinking.  If this were the definition of faith, then Christians (and other people of faith) would be held up as fools. 
Thankfully, it isn’t.
    Likewise, I have heard well-intentioned believers misuse, and even abuse, the word “faith.”  Far too often, when spiritual conversations get sticky and honest questions get difficult, Sunday school teachers, Bible study leaders, and even pastors have been heard to say, “Well, you just have to have faith.”  In some cases, this might be reassuring, but if a student or seeker has asked a thoughtful, although difficult, question this sort of answer is nothing short of spiritual malpractice. 
    Faith does not believe, “because I said so” or because God doesn’t allow difficult questions.  Our beliefs are both rational and explainable.  For a teacher to dismiss difficult questions by telling a student that “you just have to have faith” instead of finding a real answer is just lazy. 
    I admit that there are difficult questions that connect us to the great mysteries of Scripture.  But even in the mystery it is a disservice to put off those with honest questions by saying “you just have to have faith.”  An honest answer in these cases often means admitting that we just don’t know. 
So what isfaith?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it this way-
: strong belief or trust in someone or something
: belief in the existence of God: strong religious feelings or beliefs
: a system of religious beliefs
    While two of these are specific to the followers of God, I think that the first definition is entirely sufficient.  We shouldn’t think that faith is belief without evidence, but know that faith is the trust that one has in the unknown because of the knowledge and experience that one has in the known.
Here’s what I mean. 
    I trust (have faith) that my brother will pick me up at the airport even though he is over an hour late, not because of something mindless, but because he has never failed to do what he said that he would do.  In all the years that I have known, and lived with, my brother, in all the times that I have trusted him with money, with my most private secrets, with picking me up from the airport, or anything else, he has never (okay, rarely) failed to do what he said that he would do or to be where he said he would be.  If he is an hour late picking me up at the airport, I am far more likely to be worried that something has happened to him than to worry that he is not coming.
    Our faith in God is (or should be) like that.  We aren’t hoping that there will be pie in the sky by and by just because the preacher told us so.  Our faith in God comes from the relationship that we have built over time.  We met God, we spoke with God, we read stories that told us about his nature and his character, and we began to trust him.  As we began to trust God we began to witness and experience his grace, mercy, and love for us, and as we did, we began to trust him more.  Over time, many of us have seen some amazing things, we shared those experiences with others and our faith grew stronger.  I have seen God do things that medical doctors thought was impossible, I have spoken with those who have seen other impossible things, and I have also seen God open doors and change hearts so that we could adopt each of our children. 
    Those of us who believe, do so because we have, over time, developed a lasting relationship built on trust.  We trust God because he has proven himself to be trustworthy.  Because of the trust that we have built through the things that we have seen, we can trust God in the things that we have not yet seen.
This trust is what we call faith.